Beatings and Bureaucracy: The Founding Memos of Al Qaeda

A new INTELWIRE e-book provides a candid glimpse at the origins of Al Qaeda in its own words.

"Beatings and Bureaucracy: The Founding Memos of Al Qaeda" offers the full text of 30 different Al Qaeda founding documents, most of which have never been published before, including notes from the meetings at which Al Qaeda was imagined and created, letters to and from Osama bin Laden and other key Al Qaeda figures, and detailed descriptions of conflicts between bin Laden's allies and the followers of his mentor, Abdullah Azzam.

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If there's enough interest in these documents, additional material will follow.

Several of the documents in this collection were written by American jihadist Mohamed Loay Bayazid, an Al Qaeda founder. For more about American jihadists, check out J.M. Berger's new book, Jihad Joe: Americans Who Go to War in the Name of Islam, on sale everywhere.

Labels: Abdullah-Azzam, Al-Qaeda, American-Al-Qaeda, Benevolence-International-Foundation, Mohamed-Loay-Bayazid, Osama-Bin-Laden

Views expressed on INTELWIRE are those of the author alone.

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Al Qaeda in Bosnia: Exclusive State Department Cables

In light of this week's terrorist attack on the U.S. embassy in Sarajevo, INTELWIRE is publishing State Department cables related to Al Qaeda's presence in Bosnia.

The State Department cables linked below describe the U.S. government's investigation of the Benevolence International Foundation (BIF), an Al Qaeda-linked charity based in the United States with a significant presence in Bosnia.

State Department cables on Benevolence International Foundation

American jihadists, including Arnaout, played a key role in supporting mujahideen during the Bosnia war. For never-before-revealed details of these links, check out J.M. Berger's new book, Jihad Joe: Americans Who Go to War in the Name of Islam, on sale everywhere.

Documents discovered at BIF's office in Sarajevo provided crucial intelligence on the founding of Al Qaeda. Some of those documents are reproduced in an INTELWIRE Sourcebook, and more are currently being prepared for publication.

Labels: Al-Qaeda, Benevolence-International-Foundation, Bosnia

Views expressed on INTELWIRE are those of the author alone.

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Gitmo Detainees Vol. 1 Sourcebook Released

By J.M. Berger
INTELWIRE.com

The Gitmo Detainees Sourcebook, Volume One, contains more than 200 pages of tribunal transcripts related to high value detainees at Guantanamo Bay Cuba, as well as an unclassified list of all known detainees. Transcripts include Mustafa Al-hawsawi, Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, Walid Bin Attash (aka Khallad), Al Nashiri Abd Al Rahim Hussein Mohammed, Ammar Al Baluchi, Hambali (rjduan Bin Isomuddiiu), Mohd Farik Bin Amin (aka Zubair), Mohammed Nazir Bin Lep (aka Lillie), and Khalid Shaikh Mohammed.

The INTELWIRE Sourcebook Series provides collections of documents, court records and exclusive material. INTELWIRE Sourcebooks are ideal for counterterrorism professionals searching for primary source data; authors and journalists seeking to fact-check stories and books; and involved terrorism readers who want to get their information straight from the souce. INTELWIRE Sourcebooks provide professional research products at a price anyone can afford.

Current titles include Ali Mohamed, The Siege at Mecca, the Benevolence International Foundation (The Creation of Al Qaeda) and the Who's Who in Terrorism (Winter 2006).

Sourcebooks scheduled for later this year include: Al Qaeda's Millennium Plot, The Anwar Sadat Assassination, U.S. intervention in Bosnia, Siege at Mecca Vol. 2, and more.

Labels: Benevolence-International-Foundation, Bosnia, INTELWIRE-Exclusive, Sarajevo-Ricochet

Views expressed on INTELWIRE are those of the author alone.

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INTELWIRE Sourcebooks: Ali Mohamed, Benevolence International and More

Intelwire Books: The Sources The Pros Use

By J.M. Berger
INTELWIRE.com

INTELWIRE has launched the INTELWIRE Sourcebook Series -- collections of documents, court records and exclusive material that put news sources in your hands. Ideal for professionals seeking to fact-check stories and books, or for involved terrorism readers who want to get their information straight from the souce, INTELWIRE Sourcebooks provide professional research products at a price anyone can afford.

All collections are selected and compiled by INTELWIRE's J.M. Berger, a reporter and researcher who has covered terrorism for National Public Radio and the National Geographic Channel. INTELWIRE is offering three pilot books in the series.

The Siege At Mecca contains more than 200 pages of declassified State Department documents concerning the 1979 attack on the Grand Mosque by Saudi militants. Collected in a spiral bound volume for the first time anywhere, these documents contain new and never-reported intelligence on the siege, as well as possible links to Osama bin Laden and a religious sect that would later become a significant player in al Qaeda. The Siege At Mecca contains unique information that is unavailable from any other source. Table of contents and introduction || Buy the Book

The Ali Mohamed Sourcebook offers an unparalleled glimpse at the primary sources on al Qaeda's most dangerous sleeper agent. Mohamed infiltrated the U.S. Army and engaged in shady dealings with the CIA, the FBI and the Justice Department. All this and more is documented in more than 400 pages of court records, transcripts, government documents and exclusive analysis. Due to the web of deceptions and government secrecy surrounding this figure, existing reports on Mohamed are often incomplete or incorrect. Get the most important evidence on the man who trained Osama bin Laden himself. Table of contents and introduction || Buy the Book

The Benevolence International Foundation Sourcebook is a document of incredible scope. The Benevolence Foundation (BIF) was a key charity front used by al Qaeda from its very earliest days. The first in a planned series of volumes covering al Qaeda's use of non-governmental organizations and charities to launder money, the BIF Sourcebook documents al Qaeda's formative years in amazing detail -- even including the minutes of the first al Qaeda meeting as recorded by one of the terror network's founders, in both English and the original Arabic. This book contains extensive documentation that has never been published anywhere. Table of contents and introduction || Buy the Book

Labels: Benevolence-International-Foundation, INTELWIRE-Exclusive

Views expressed on INTELWIRE are those of the author alone.

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Benevolence Foundation Founder Added To Designated Terrorist List

By J.M. Berger

INTELWIRE.com



The Treasury Department has banned Americans from doing business with a founder of the Benevolence International Foundation, Adel Abdul Jalil Batterjee.



Batterjee was today added to the Specially Designated Nationals list maintained by the U.S. Treasury Department, a legal move that also allows the U.S. to block the assets of named "individuals, groups, and entities, such as terrorists and narcotics traffickers designated under programs that are not country-specific."



Batterjee is a wealthy Saudi national born in Jeddah in 1946. In 1987, Batterjee founded the Islamic Benevolence Committee in both Saudi Arabia and Peshewar, Pakistan. According to the U.S. government, one of IBC’s purposes was to raise funds in Saudi Arabia to support the efforts of the mujahideen in Afghanistan.



Mohammed Jamal Khalifa, bin Laden’s former roommate and current brother-in-law, created the Benevolence International Corporation in the Philippines in 1989. BIC purported to be an import-export company and later repositioned itself as a charity, according to the Far East Economic Review.



The Far East Economic Review (a publication of the Wall Street Journal) cites BIC as the direct predecessor to BIF. The U.S. indictment of BIF’s executive director makes the same claim about IBC. Both statements are very likely correct.



Batargy, the founder of IBC, and Khalifa, the founder of BIC, were each known associates of Osama bin Laden, and moved in the same circles and cities in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and in Pakistan. Two BIF-related indictments (U.S. vs. Benevolence International Foundation, and U.S. vs. Arnaout) make it clear both men had very close ties to the U.S. Benevolence International Foundation.



In 1992 or 1993, Benevolence incorporated in Palos Hills, Ill., outside Chicago. where it would eventually move. Sheik Adil Abdul Galil Batargy dropped out of the organization around this time, after questions began to arise overseas about the nature of Benevolence’s operations. Benevolence opened offices in Pakistan, Bosnia, Canada and Azerbaijan, and possibly elsewhere.



With Batargy’s departure, Enaam Arnaout formally took charge of Benevolence. According to the government, Benevolence engaged in a pattern of fraud, diverting funds raised for charitable purposes to terrorist activities around the world. Arnaout pleaded guilty to misappropriating funds and received an 11-year jail sentence. As part of his plea deal, Arnaout did not admit to aiding and abetting terrorism.



Spellings and aliases, according to the Treasury Department, include: BATARJEE, Adel Abdul Jalil (a.k.a. AL-BATTARJEE, 'Adil; a.k.a. BATARJI, 'Adil 'Abd al Jalil; a.k.a. BATTERJEE, Adel).

Labels: Benevolence-International-Foundation, Bosnia, INTELWIRE-Exclusive, Sarajevo-Ricochet

Views expressed on INTELWIRE are those of the author alone.

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bin Laden Brother-in-Law Khalifa Moves To Be Dropped From 9/11 Suit

By J.M. Berger

INTELWIRE.com



Mohammed Jamal Khalifa, a brother-in-law of Osama bin Laden, has filed a motion to have his name removed from a lawsuit seeking damages for the September 11 attack.



Khalifa is one of more than 200 co-defendants named in a suit filed by law firm Motley Rice on behalf of more than 500 families of people killed in the September 11 attack. The lawsuit seeks redress from individuals suspected of financially supporting terrorism and al Qaeda, many of whom are Saudi businessmen like Khalifa.



According to the U.S. and Philippines governments, Khalifa acted as a major financier of al Qaeda during the 1990s, moving funds and resources around the country on behalf of al Qaeda and bin Laden, whose sister is married to Khalifa.



However in several media interviews and court cases, Khalifa has consistently and vocally denied any link to terrorism and any wrongdoing whatsoever. Khalifa, who lives freely in Saudi Arabia, was temporarily detained by the Saudi government after the September 11 attack and has publicly condemned bin Laden since being released. He repeated these claims in the new filing, which seeks to remove his name from the list of defendants.



Around the late 1980s or early 1990s, Khalifa founded the Philippines branch of the International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO), which has been designated a terrorist financing organization by the United States and other countries.



In numerous U.S. court filings and several Philippines investigative documents, Khalifa has been specifically and repeatedly accused of financing and otherwise assisting terrorist activities in the Philippines, where he is suspected of funneling al Qaeda funds to the Abu Sayyaf Group in the southern Philippines through IIRO and other business and charitable fronts.



INTELWIRE has reviewed hundreds of pages of U.S. criminal, civil and immigration court documents relating to Khalifa. Additionally, some formerly classified Philippines investigative documents have been provided to INTELWIRE by Motley Rice. Some, but not all, of the claims in these various documents have been independently verified.



The Philippines documents have provided the basis for almost all major media reports concerning Khalifa's ties to al Qaeda and Abu Sayyaf, but other links have been uncovered in court filings related to Chicago's Benevolence International Foundation, a 1995 civil court case in which Khalifa sued the U.S. government, INS reports, contemporary media reports of Khalifa's INS proceedings, and material related to a 1996 prosecution of Ramzi Yousef and Abdul Hakim Murad.



Furthermore, according to a list published by the Jewish Defense Organization, Khalifa (along with bin Laden) was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in an al Qaeda-linked plot to blow up New York City landmarks in 1993.



According to the new filing, "Khalifa has absolutely no connection with the tragic events of September 11, 2001, nor does he support those that brought them about." The filing also argues that the suit has no jurisdiction to reach Khalifa due to Khalifa's minimal connection to the United States.



An attached affadavit repeats this claim, further asserting that Khalifa has visited the United States twice, once "during the eighties" and once in 1994. At the conclusion of the 1994 visit, Khalifa was detained by the INS for nearly six months. (See INS Deported Mohammed Jamal Khalifa Just Days After Oklahoma Bombing; Gov't Returned Evidence, Erased Charges.)



In his filing, Khalifa argues that the charges leveled by Motley Rice in its amended complaint (PDF) are "completely without merit," but does not specifically address what it claims are "factual errors" in the complaint. The motion focuses primarily on issues having to do with jurisdiction.



Khalifa's motion was filed in the Southern District of New York on April 10.

Related Stories:



INS Deported bin Laden Kin Just Days After OKC Bombing



Khalifa Links May Run To Al-Zawahiri, Uranium Plot, Terror Finance Network and Even 9/11

Labels: Benevolence-International-Foundation, INTELWIRE-Exclusive

Views expressed on INTELWIRE are those of the author alone.

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Benevolence-Linked Palestinian Charged in Florida

Adham Hassoun, who opened a South Florida office of the Benevolence International Foundation, has been charged with illegally possessing a firearm, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.





Federal authorities previously linked Hassoun to Jose Padilla, an alleged al Qaeda "dirty bomber" currently being held as an enemy combatant by the federal government. According to some published reports, authorities suspected that Hassoun may have been involved in Padilla's conversion to Islam.





According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, in a separate proceeding "Immigration Judge Neale Foster found Hassoun participated in an assassination plot, recruited a "jihad fighter," donated money to charities under investigation for possible links to terrorism and belonged to an international terrorist organization called Al-Gama Al-Islamiyya, according to Hassoun's petition for release to a federal district judge. That petition was denied."





Al-Gama Al-Islamiyya, also known as the Islamic Group, was led by Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, the spiritual leader of a New York City-based al Qaeda cell. One member of that cell, Clement Rodney Hampton-El, recruited U.S. military veterans for al Qaeda, as reported in an investigative report exclusive to Intelwire. The al Qaeda recruitment plot corresponds closely to the movements of Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols in key time frames.





McVeigh traveled to South Florida in January 1993 and stayed through March, visiting with his sister in Plantation, FL, about 20 minutes from the Benevolence office, according to evidence presented at his trial. He sold merchandise at two local gun shows during that period. Hassoun signed a lease for the Benevolence office during the same period.





During the planning and execution of the OKCBOMB plot, McVeigh and Terry Nichols both traveled in and around Chicago, where the Benevolence International Foundation was based in from mid-1993 on. Padilla had a son in Chicago, where he had been raised. Nichols traveled through Illinois on the way to a gun show just days before the first sightings of John Doe 2, according to testimony and evidence at his and McVeigh's trial.

Labels: Benevolence-International-Foundation, INTELWIRE-Exclusive

Views expressed on INTELWIRE are those of the author alone.

Posted by J.M. Berger | Permalink